La Table du Château

While on holidays, we found a wonderful restaurant in Bizanet, a tiny town off the tourist track. La Table du Château is the perfect French restaurant - unpretentious yet sophisticated, with food to die for at very reasonable prices.

We had lunch there twice. We'll go again!

The first time, we sat outside, in their enclosed courtyard - perfect for a hot sunny day. We both chose from the set menu and decided to go for the 3-course choice at €21.

The starter was foie gras with a salad and asparagus or green beans (or both, I can't quite remember). Actually, green beans it was - I wrote it down in my little notebook. We then had cod with tomato sauce and polenta. I think Brendan had a meat dish (but my notes are clearly letting me down, here!). I'll check with him and report back (He had the cod too). I had a biscuit and fruit dessert while Brendan had cheese and fig relish - a lovely mix. You can get a nice Spanish fig relish in the fruit and veg shop in the old Dundrum shopping centre, by the way. It's not cheap, but a little goes a long way.

We went back again on our second week. Brendan, much more reasonable than me, opted for the à la carte menu, skipping the starter, while I pigged out and had the 3 courses again. Brendan had the cannelloni with mushroom and langoustine sauce - a delight, and crème brûlée. I had the foie gras and green beans again, though it was slightly different in presentation and texture, followed by merlu (some kind of fish - let me check the translation - would you believe, I can't find it in the Microsoft Word translator, nor in Babelfish. Aah, found it in my Collins dictionary. I had spelled it wrong, that's why I could not find it. It's hake.) with potato and cheese mash, courgettes and asparagus. And my dessert was Tarte Chou Chou - basically choux à la crème on biscuit with strawberries.

All gorgeous, beautifully cooked and presented food. Service was excellent. It was busy both times we were there, mostly locals. You would think it would get more of the tourist trade - Bizanet is only 10 minutes from the Abbaye de Fontfroide, one of the major tourist attractions in the area. Bizanet itself is not a tourist town, though it is quite pretty (strangely enough, the English version of its website does not include the restaurants section). If you're in the area, do go to La Table du Château. You won't regret it.